When prosthetic tooth caps or implants are placed in the mouth, the soft tissue gum line around the prosthetic must be tamped around the prosthetic. Currently this tamping is accomplished utilizing a round string-like retraction cord that the dentist strings around the prosthetic on top of the soft gum tissue. A tamping instrument is then used to push down on the cord to force the soft gum tissue against the root exposed portion of the prosthetic tooth. Keeping the retraction cord in place is difficult, since the dentist must hold two ends of the cord as it is tightened around the tooth. The patient through tongue action and lip movement, tends to cause the cord to be lifted upwardly. Likewise, tightening of the cord around the prosthetic tooth is difficult, due to the lack of space between the tooth and tongue and lip and due to the lack of space inside the mouth.
This invention relates to a replacement for the retraction cord. A resilient and stretchable endless strand tool of dense material is utilized instead of the cord. The endless strand needs to be sterilizable and comes in various lengths and thicknesses. Because it is made of a dense material, reduction or elimination of pockets in the strand where germs can lodge is avoided. The dentist stretches the endless strand of material around a single tooth prosthetic and pushes it over and along the sides of the prosthetic tooth until the endless strand meets the soft gum tissue. Because of its elastic and stretchable nature the endless strand stretches around the tooth prosthetic and is held taut around all side surfaces of the prosthetic. Because of its round cross-section, the endless strand can be rolled along the prosthetic tooth side surfaces down to the soft tissue gum line.
Because of its elastic nature, the endless strand tool can be tensioned by a dental practitioner pulling on opposite sides of the endless strand to elongate the endless strand to permit it to be placed over and around the tooth prosthetic and when the tensioning is released, the endless strand returns to its original length whereby it grasps the tooth prosthetic tightly along its sides.
If the cross-sectional area of the endless strand is circular, this will allow a dental practitioner to move the endless strand tool along the tooth sides toward the root portion of the tooth prosthetic by rolling until the endless strand tool comes into contact with the soft gum tissue. Once in place against the soft gum tissue, the endless strand tool can be tamped by a dental tool to force the soft gum tissue below it against the root portion of the dental prosthetic.
Additional possible modifications of the endless strand tool include having at least one extending tab which can be gripped by the dental practitioner to stretch the endless strand to provide for easy insertion around the tooth and easy removal of the endless strand from around the tooth after the tamping operation is finished. If two opposed tabs are provided on the endless strand, they can be griped and pulled apart to provide for an easy way to tension and elongate the endless strand whereby it can be more easily slipped over the top of the tooth prosthetic for ease of insertion over the tooth prosthetic as well as for ease in removal.
As the soft gum tissue varies in spacing from the tooth prosthetic, having various width strands can accommodate for the difference in gapping of the gum tissue from the tooth surface. As a tooth prosthetic is desirable closely fitted to the adjacent teeth, the space between teeth may be quite narrow. In such cases, portions of the endless strand can be provided to have a narrow thickness to pass through the narrow space between prosthetic and adjacent tooth while having a wider thickness along the sides of the prosthetic. The tensioning step for insertion can accent the narrowing of the narrow thickness as the endless strand is inserted over the tooth surface while releasing of the tension allows the endless strand to resume its original configuration to fill the enlarged space gap between root portions between teeth.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.